Durant Motors Internet Forum

Our Purpose

  Preserve the automobiles manufactured by the Durant Motor Company, provide enjoyment for each member with meets, tours & technical assistance.


This forum is provided by the Durant Motors Automobile Club located at durantmotors.org

How to Add Pictures             Rocky

For Sale & Wanted
Start a New Topic 
Author
Comment
View Entire Thread
Re: 28 Durant on Craigs list:

Norm: I knew of the 1930 J.R. Richards body car. I even talked to Don about it when it was for sale in La. I got a call from the owner back when we were in Traverse City. I couldn't get anyone else interested in it. On the 28 on Craig's list, I think that could be a M-2, M-4 or D-40. I think there was little differences in these.
Gary

Where Are You From? Washington State

Do You own a car built by Durant? Yes

Re: 28 Durant on Craigs list:

Gary, our interest is only in getting info for the Registry and have gone after both for full details. Had a feeling that 614 was same car mentioned in several forums over the last few years and sure enough I made same comment about taillight upside down.
Based on hoods in durantcars and photos in DMAC the hood with plain center is a 1929 40 which came out Jan 1 1929 to Dec 31 1929 after the M2 and short lived M4. All part of the new Registry is info on each model. Once we have owners feed back, will know want it is. A 1929 or 1930 40 model year.

Don't confuse production year with model year vins are based on. Aug 1st is next year until the 1930's came out when that Aug model year was scrapped. Then model year was only when an update was done to a model. Hence as example, 1930 614 was Jan 1 1930 to Dec 31 1930, Jan 1 1931 to Jan 31 1932, Feb 1 1932 to end when ever that was. Most likely mid 1932 or earlier, when Kirby said Durant was a long dead company months before, so stopped Durant line and only made the Frontenac to end of 1933. (yes Reo 1932 and up at Dominion which is not our car / truck's)

Would be nice if members who find vehicles 1921 - 1934 we cover, (not Dort / Gray Dort) would also notify Steve Large stevelarge@rogers.com so he can begin the process of getting the info for the Registry both by email and phone calls he makes to the owners.

Where Are You From? Ottawa Ont

Do You own a car built by Durant? Dominion built 1932 614 Sedan

Re: 28 Durant on Craigs list:

Norm and Steve

I am a little confused, I have a 1928 M-4 that has a plain center hood, it also has Black dash gauges which I thought was unique to M-4 and M-2....White gauges I thought were unique only to M-40.....The car pictured on craigslist has black gauges, and it is not an M-2 as it would have an aluminum spoke steering wheel...The car that I am now restoring has a mix-match of all the above...I am wondering how I should best register this car with the DMAC as the vin tag is M-40 the body is mostly M-4 and the engine and chassis and steering box/wheel is M-2 Durant/Star...I did title the car as a M-40 and used the vin tag that had been placed on the firewall.

Where Are You From? Leavenworth, WA / Yuma, AZ

Do You own a car built by Durant? Yes , several

Re: 28 Durant on Craigs list:

Right you are Bill looking at durantcar M4 also has the plain center hood. Like I mentioned once we get feed back we will know what the car is. Has the 29 rad crest and plain glass in the headlights of the 40, 60 and 401 which just add to a possible 40. Good old D Motors and their confusion. Different parts used at different plants etc etc. Who knew the 1930 614 didn't all have spear hoods and also produced the blind back. 407 handles are plain in Canada but when Oakland decided to copy our car they used the spear style of the 614.

So you have a 1929 M4. produced in 1928. April 1st M2 Durant car / truck replaced the Star M2 car / truck. So April 1 1928 to July 31 1928 are 1928 model year M2. Aug 1 1928 to Sept 3 1928 M2 are model year 1929. Sept 4 1928 Durant car became M4 and the truck became S4 Rugby. M4 Sept 4 928 to Dec 31 1928 are 1929 model year. Jan 1 1929 the 40 to replace the M4.

We had a devil of a time using the info on DMAC about Rugby's starting Sept 4 1928 from Durant truck and making all the Rugby info fit. Finally it all made sense and all fit once we saw a Rugby X manual dated April 1928. Yes the Rugby replaced the Star trucks but only the M2 continued as Durant truck to the split to M4 and S4 Sept 4 1928. We had same problems with the vin lists in DMAC and not all plants made same models as shown there. Steve has been using a number of vin books of the time US / Can to arrive at correct time periods / plants. We still have unknown models like 416, S, S2, L2, X2 and of course 1932 633 shown in aftermarket catalogues we have no info on.

You are not alone with mixed parts on the car. Its like they just grabbed any part handy and put it on car one and next down the line got other parts. With the switch from M2 to M4 they probably just used up handy parts. Gerald Feather in BC ran into the same thing with his coupe. Stephan here, once remarked its like they threw all the parts in the air and what laded first was used on that car, the next got something else. Or box one part was used on this car and box 2 part was used on the next. Even in the parts books they say to car xxx and yyy after same model.

If your vin plate shows M4 then register it as that.

M4
E-1001 to E-15,000
C-1001 to C-10,000
T-1001 to T-2,272

Highest C is C-7497 (plate only), E we have E-10323, and T we have T-2006 in the Registry. Total cars or plates is 26 so not many.

I do not profess to be an expert by any means of the imagination nor can anyone so profess to be. In talking to Jon the carb king, who had never heard of the carbs used by Dominion nor a Frontenac car, said we are 2nd from the bottom of the barrel in trying to figure out, Graham is the bottom and worse than Durant.

Where Are You From? Ottawa Ont

Do You own a car built by Durant? Dominion built 1932 614 Sedan

 

The Durant Motors Automobile Club